Is Government Dominated By Business

This essay Is Government Dominated By Business has a total of 1086 words and 5 pages.
Is Government Dominated by Business

Special interest groups have dominated government since the advent of
America's political system. Special interest groups or lobbies are collections
of individuals who join together to pursue common interests and to influence
the decisions on public policies. Many people view special interest groups as
an integral part of the political process, legitimized by the first amendment
of the Constitution. In that way, special interest groups are good. The point
that disgusts many people is that more often then not money overpowers the
right decision; that is why Big Business is a problem. The richer the
companies and organizations, the better chance they have to persuade the
government officials.
In the United States alone there are thousands of special interest
groups working for their own cause. Some of the causes they are working for
are: business, banking, labor, environment, women, seniors, the economy, and
farming just to name a few. Some groups or businesses which partake in
lobbying are: N.O.W., Green Peace, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Sierra Club, N.R.A.,
Tobacco industry and the ACLU. These groups often work at the national, state,
and local levels attempting to influence government policy. Many groups have
permanent offices in Washington DC. The primary goals of these groups are the
passing, blocking, or amending legislation to achieve a favorable ruling for
their own benefit. In Washington the groups primary targets are the House and
Senate sub-committees which are the key places where legislation is considered.
The groups often speak in front of Committee hearings to put their views on the
record.
One of the most well known special interest group is the National Rifle
Association. This group has done tireless work in Washington trying to stop Gun
Control bills from passing in Congress. The worst blow that happened to the
NRA was the passing of the Brady Bill and the Assault Rifle Ban. The NRA
believes this is an infringement on the constitutional rights of all Americans.
Recently after a huge lobby in Washington, the NRA forced the Senate to have
another vote on the Assault Rifle ban. The way the NRA forces the senate is as
followed: the NRA gets together with some senators that they know want to
repeal the ban. The NRA gives money to the senators for their campaigns, etc.
The senators then persuade other senators and the NRA has them on their side as
well. When the NRA captures enough senators, it forces Congress to bring it to
the floor and debate about the issue. In this case, the NRA failed. However,
the NRA will continue to support the senators that are a help to the cause and
will eventually force another vote in Congress. This happens daily in
Washington. All segments of business and industry have lobbyists. It seems
that private citizens are the only group on their own.
The lumber and paper industry is an important business to many people.
They too lobby in Washington to ensure that no restrictions are put on their
jobs. There is another group fighting against the lumber industry and that is
the environmentalists. The "Greens" feel that the loggers should not be
allowed to cut down as many trees as they do. These two groups confer with
senators at the state and national level trying to persuade them to their side.
However, the loggers' unions join the big companies to protect their jobs.
This is a very steep obstacle for the "Tree Huggers" to overcome. The lumber
industry wins due to the money they have at their disposal.
Political Action Committees are other groups which help in the
persuasion of Congressional people. PAC's are organizations established by
private groups to support a candidate for public office. "In 1971 PAC's became
increasingly popular because the ban on the use of corporate money to set up
PAC's was lifted"(Groliers "PAC"). PAC's contribute enormous amounts of money
into the campaigns for political candidates. The amounts are increasing every
year and it is a multi- million dollar business. Single Issue politics is also
a problem. This form of politics is quite popular these days, it is when
individuals or groups support or reject a candidate based on one view of a
certain issue. The types of issues include abortion and gun control to name
two.
It is now a lot easier for the Special Interest Groups to persuade the
lawmakers. The spread of direct primaries, television-based campaigning, and
the decline of the traditional political party strengths has left many
legislatures vulnerable to special interest groups. The advances in technology
have strengthened these groups power since they can be heard by more people.
This access to mass medid also makes them more appealing to the candidates.
The amount of money spent through lobbying

Read essay without registering

Donate an essay now and get the full essay emailed you. Upload File
Acceptable files: .txt, .doc, .docx, .rtfEmail Address

Essays Related to Is Government Dominated By Business

Impeachment Of The President Of The USAImpeachment of the President of the USA In the hallways of the Smithsonian, two moralists are debating the impeachment of the President of the United States of America, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton. One is clearly Anti-Clinton (AC) the other, a Democrat (DC), is not so much for him as he is for the rational and pragmatic application of moral principles. AC (expectedly): The President should be impeached. DC (no less expectedly) ; But, surely, even you are not trying to imply that he has comm

The Republic - Book 1 - Theme Of JusticeThe Republic - Book 1 - Theme of Justice The subject matter of the Republic is the nature of justice and its relation to human existence. Book I of the republic contains a critical examination of the nature and virtue of justice. Socrates engages in a dialectic with Thrasymachus, Polemarchus, and Cephalus, a method which leads to the asking and answering of questions which directs to a logical refutation and thus leading to a convincing argument of the true nature of justice. And that is the mai

PornographyPornography Suppose one accepts MacKinnon and Dworkin's suggested statutory definition of pornography. How does one who generally accepts MacKinnon and Dworkin's views on the pervasively harmful effect of pornography, and who accepts a need for legal redress of the harms perpetrated by pornography, deal with pornographic material? The ordinance proposed by MacKinnon and Dworkin would deal with such material by enacting legislation which gives people adversely affected by the works, which clearly

Pornography DebatePornography Debate Suppose one accepts MacKinnon and Dworkin's suggested statutory definition of pornography. How does one who generally accepts MacKinnon and Dworkin's views on the pervasively harmful effect of pornography, and who accepts a need for legal redress of the harms perpetrated by pornography, deal with pornographic material? The ordinance proposed by MacKinnon and Dworkin would deal with such material by enacting legislation which gives people adversely affected by the works, which